Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) or Science University of Malaysia is the second university in Malaysia. Its main campus is located in Penang while two other branches are located at Kubang Kerian in Kelantan, which is known as the Health campus, and at Seri Ampangan, Nibong Tebal in mainland Penang which is where they host the engineering campus. The school is not only known as a reputable school in Malaysia but it is also renowned worldwide, especially in the field of research.
Science University of Malaysia – History of USM
The school was formerly known as Universiti Pulau Pinang and it was established in 1969. From the beginning, its role was to reach a level of higher education in the fields of applied sciences, building sciences and technology, education, humanities, pharmaceutical sciences, pure sciences and social sciences. Aside from imparting knowledge on these areas, the university was also dedicated to regularly holding research for the advancement of these fields.
Science University of Malaysia – Courses offered
In the main campus in Penang, the courses offered are Arts, Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Computer Sciences, Humanities, Industrial Technology and Distance Education. In the health campus in mainland Penang, Medical and Dental programs are offered and in the Engineering campus, Aerospace Engineering and Materials & Mineral Resources Engineering are some of the courses available. The undergraduate courses would require students to have full-residency for a period of three years with the exception of health sciences, engineering, pharmacy, medicine and dentistry degrees requiring 4-5 years of residency.
Science University of Malaysia – USM Research
The university offers a venue for research not only for local students but also for foreign scholars. There are various research institutes that were established by the school. The areas of research that the school offers are aquaculture, biomedical and pharmaceutical studies, biotechnology, brain and neurosciences, distance education, engineering, environmental science, food technology, geographical information system, information technology, natural language processing and computer aided translation, materials science, polymer science and technology, structure analysis, surface chemistry, and robotic vision.